Custom diy aquarium plus sump. Getting way to many bubbles and every few seconds huge volcano like bubbles lol it’s overflowing and slowly leaking.

[Alexz]

Pictures would help… the sand situation is all bad! Should have rinsed well or replaced! I wouldn’t add any live stock for awhile and continue to gravel vac till you get it clean and ammonia down to zero!

Yup will do thank you

 

[Alexz]

Is that tape to hold the sump together? Sheesh! You got quiet the mess going on there! I’d be scared to fill that thing with water honestly! I see the aluminum frame you got holding the bottom seam of the tank together that’s doing more damage than good if that glass isn’t perfectly flat on the stand and just sitting on the angle..

First time I was afraid… just like that disco song lol Sumps integrity is fine. Same as aquarium. There’s double amount of silicone that’s needed. It was taped to hold silicone together didn’t take it off yet. Since I’m still tweaking sump filtration. It ain’t pretty but it’s almost done. Just need to figure out my socks placement and does buble Magnus paper roller filter needs to have a pipe ran straight through it. Seems like pain in the butt. Anyway I can hang it inside sump and still have it work somehow?

 

[Alexz]

Pictures would help… the sand situation is all bad! Should have rinsed well or replaced! I wouldn’t add any live stock for awhile and continue to gravel vac till you get it clean and ammonia down to zero!

Got it. Thank you. I won’t. I got a few snails in there to finish this messy cycle. Also prolly gonna be a long one and costly. Debating weather I should do 30/30/30 water change within a week to stabilize along with sand cleaning like brs ppl suggest. Or because I’m cycling I should just let it cook and give it time

 

[hexcolor reef]

Congrats on the DIY build. Looks pretty good

 

[Troylee]

Got it. Thank you. I won’t. I got a few snails in there to finish this messy cycle. Also prolly gonna be a long one and costly. Debating weather I should do 30/30/30 water change within a week to stabilize along with sand cleaning like brs ppl suggest. Or because I’m cycling I should just let it cook and give it time

Clean your sand with a gravel vac when you do the water changes! Your tank will thank you down the line! You’re setting up a fresh system the last thing you want is 2 year old nasties already polluting the tank. Don’t worry about Bacteria the rocks are what counts not the sand.

 

[Alexz]

Got it. Thank you. I won’t. I got a few snails in there to finish this messy cycle. Also prolly gonna be a long one and costly. Debating weather I should do 30/30/30 water change within a week to stabilize along with sand cleaning like brs ppl suggest. Or because I’m cycling I should just let it cook and give it time

Also let me know if I have enough flow if I have one gyro near top and 2 big wave makers on opposite side near overflow box mid level on both sides. Something tells me I need 2 more on the other side below gyro facing the the other 2 by overflow box.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree on back pressure and flow issue. This is literally a water fall effect.
Please for the future note:
An emergency is a trauma or crisis situation in which one is losing fish rapidly, tank is leaking, coral suddenly turning white, as examples and these persons warrant immediate help and posting a basic question takes away from those who need immediate attention.
Just a clarification for you as if one day you have a true emergency, you cant get help fast enough and will hope someone is not posting similar thread making you wait.

 

[Alexz]

Clean your sand with a gravel vac when you do the water changes! Your tank will thank you down the line! You’re setting up a fresh system the last thing you want is 2 year old nasties already polluting the tank. Don’t worry about Bacteria the rocks are what counts not the sand.

Got it. I have a bunch of small and big bio blocks, bio plastic balls and more rocks in sump near pump. Thanks yall. Ima read these over until I resolve my issues. Ima make some kind of sketch how and where to add one more partition in my sump so I can install my skimmer, paper roller and socks. I think I should make it right this time so it’ll be easier to maintain clean tank. Does anyone here not use sucks and have success?

 

[Alexz]

Agree on back pressure and flow issue. This is literally a water fall effect.
Please for the future note:
An emergency is a trauma or crisis situation in which one is losing fish rapidly, tank is leaking, coral suddenly turning white, as examples and these persons warrant immediate help and posting a basic question takes away from those who need immediate attention.
Just a clarification for you as if one day you have a true emergency, you cant get help fast enough and will hope someone is not posting similar thread making you wait.

Ok got it thanks

 

[Alexz]

Ok got it thanks

My tank is still leaking so it is an emergency according to your message. To me getting kicked out of building because I’m flooding ppl is bigger emergency then dead fish or corals. Although I can relate. Thanks again for all your replies

 

[Alexz]

My tank is still leaking so it is an emergency according to your message. To me getting kicked out of building because I’m flooding ppl is bigger emergency then dead fish or corals. Although I can relate. Thanks again for all your replies

I meant sump. Barely but with all the help I can tweak it. Will post results of my sump 2.0 fingers crossed lol

 

[Alexz]

I meant sump. Barely but with all the help I can tweak it. Will post results of my sump 2.0 fingers crossed lol

Im in NYC)

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@Alexz , where in the sump is your return pump located? It appears that right now the entire sump is almost completely full of water, which is not ideal. If the return pump shuts off and creates a siphon, drawing water into the sump, you don't have much wiggle room at all until the whole things floods...
Maybe I'm just not getting a good idea of how the sump is set up?

 

[Alexz]

@Alexz, Thanks, for posting the photos. Just so you don't think I was picking on you without being willing to help...

The first step is really simple to alleviate the 'emergency' issues.

First up - Did you build the aquarium yourself? If so it looks pretty darn good for a hobbyist.

You have 3 1" pipes and they all go way down into your sump below the surface of the water. When your pump is off the overflow pipes drain into the sump and when they run out of water they fill with air. When the pump kicks back on and the water starts flowing down the pipes the air is trapped. The air in the pipe is basically a bubble and wants to rise up the pipe to the top. The water is at the top and gravity is pulling the water down the pipe and trapping the air.

The air bubble in the pipe gets trapped and actually blocks the pipe stopping the flow of water going down the pipe. When that happens the water in the over flow box and the tank rises. As the water rises above the top of the pipe there is more pressure by the water. Sometimes the water wins and it flushes the air out of the pipe making a big splash down below.

But sometimes the air wins. And when the trapped air wins it over comes the weight of the water and pushes the water up out of the pipe causing you to get your erupting volcano.

Now several have commented about adding standpipes and gate valves. Those are techniques for quieting or silencing your overflow. But right now you have an issue with the plumbing design and you need to resolve that first.

There are 2 ways of doing this. 1) Now that you know the water level in the chamber that the overflow dumps into you can cut the drainage pipes to just within an inch of the surface. With only and inch of the pipe submerged it is much easier for the water to push the air out of the pipe and let the water flow down.

The 2nd way 2) is to leave your pipes down low but drill vent holes in the pipes an inch above the surface level of the water in the first chamber. A small hole in each pipe lets the air escape out the side of the pipe while the water runs straight in. This is a great job for a step bit as you may have to drill the vent holes a couple of times getting larger so that the air vents without whistling and if you go too big you get splashing. This also removes alot of the noise you get from all the big bubbles going into the sump.

I prefer the 2nd method. The reasons being that with a vent hole the water is allowed to flow smoothly down the pipe creating less splash, less noise and less bubbles because it's never fighting the air for space in the pipe. This also allows you to drain all the way at the bottom of the first chamber keeping the detritus from settling on the bottom as the water flows over the top.


Now once you have taken care of the emergency volcano situation then you can start playing with making the whole process of getting water out of the tank quieter. There are plenty of threads on Dursos and Bean Overflows for you to review and for you to determine which works best for you. Simple is always going to last longer with less headaches.

But adding standpipes in the overflow box to stop the water "Falling" into the pipes will make a big difference in noise. Then you will be left with some gurgling sounds and this is going to be an issue depending on the flow of water you have dropping thru the 3 down pipes. You may not need to go any further than stand pipes to make your tank nice and quiet. But if more silencing is necessary then start reviewing the Bean and Durso threads and see which method you want to experiment with.

Dave B

Yeah all by myself unfortunately. First one I had help and correct sizes. This one during install I realized my sizes were wrong. My panels were sliding away from me so created some bubbles between glass in a few places. Which is a big no no. I was praying during the whole build for it to be ok. Triple siliconed it over a few weeks time cause silicone seams were huge let it cure plenty after some more praying did some testing Ran outa silicone cause it was a mess. Shoulda made a video prolly could’ve been famous lol Lights prolly won’t work great cause I have 4 inch brace all along the top edges and a few across in the middle. But I have 3 kessel a360x
And some other lights I’ve never tried yet. Plus going for easy corals nothing extreme fingers crossed again. Back to sump drawing board. I’m thinking to have water come down over several layers of cheap filter pads of different thickness placed over egg crate. And just replacing every few days. Saw on utube a bunch of ppl using skimmers, and roller mats without socks. Im really tempted. I have bubble Magnus paper roller and coral sea medium skimmer ( I think, been a few years).

 

[Alexz]

@Alexz , where in the sump is your return pump located? It appears that right now the entire sump is almost completely full of water, which is not ideal. If the return pump shuts off and creates a siphon, drawing water into the sump, you don't have much wiggle room at all until the whole things floods...
Maybe I'm just not getting a good idea of how the sump is set up?

Hi. Sorry for a messy pic. It’s the thing they stuff toys with cover on top. Underneath heaters and rocks. Left compartment has pump and bio blocks

 

[Alexz]

Hi. Sorry for a messy pic. It’s the thing they stuff toys with cover on top. Underneath heaters and rocks. Left compartment has pump and bio blocks

Also forgot to mention I had that problem before in my first tank. Over 50 gallons went on my floor. It was a huge mess. This time I didn’t install any y valves or regulators. My return in aquarium is 1 inch below water level so not so many gallons. Will go down. But I still have to test it ASAP. Thank for heads up)

 

[Alexz]

@Alexz, Thanks, for posting the photos. Just so you don't think I was picking on you without being willing to help...

The first step is really simple to alleviate the 'emergency' issues.

First up - Did you build the aquarium yourself? If so it looks pretty darn good for a hobbyist.

You have 3 1" pipes and they all go way down into your sump below the surface of the water. When your pump is off the overflow pipes drain into the sump and when they run out of water they fill with air. When the pump kicks back on and the water starts flowing down the pipes the air is trapped. The air in the pipe is basically a bubble and wants to rise up the pipe to the top. The water is at the top and gravity is pulling the water down the pipe and trapping the air.

The air bubble in the pipe gets trapped and actually blocks the pipe stopping the flow of water going down the pipe. When that happens the water in the over flow box and the tank rises. As the water rises above the top of the pipe there is more pressure by the water. Sometimes the water wins and it flushes the air out of the pipe making a big splash down below.

But sometimes the air wins. And when the trapped air wins it over comes the weight of the water and pushes the water up out of the pipe causing you to get your erupting volcano.

Now several have commented about adding standpipes and gate valves. Those are techniques for quieting or silencing your overflow. But right now you have an issue with the plumbing design and you need to resolve that first.

There are 2 ways of doing this. 1) Now that you know the water level in the chamber that the overflow dumps into you can cut the drainage pipes to just within an inch of the surface. With only and inch of the pipe submerged it is much easier for the water to push the air out of the pipe and let the water flow down.

The 2nd way 2) is to leave your pipes down low but drill vent holes in the pipes an inch above the surface level of the water in the first chamber. A small hole in each pipe lets the air escape out the side of the pipe while the water runs straight in. This is a great job for a step bit as you may have to drill the vent holes a couple of times getting larger so that the air vents without whistling and if you go too big you get splashing. This also removes alot of the noise you get from all the big bubbles going into the sump.

I prefer the 2nd method. The reasons being that with a vent hole the water is allowed to flow smoothly down the pipe creating less splash, less noise and less bubbles because it's never fighting the air for space in the pipe. This also allows you to drain all the way at the bottom of the first chamber keeping the detritus from settling on the bottom as the water flows over the top.


Now once you have taken care of the emergency volcano situation then you can start playing with making the whole process of getting water out of the tank quieter. There are plenty of threads on Dursos and Bean Overflows for you to review and for you to determine which works best for you. Simple is always going to last longer with less headaches.

But adding standpipes in the overflow box to stop the water "Falling" into the pipes will make a big difference in noise. Then you will be left with some gurgling sounds and this is going to be an issue depending on the flow of water you have dropping thru the 3 down pipes. You may not need to go any further than stand pipes to make your tank nice and quiet. But if more silencing is necessary then start reviewing the Bean and Durso threads and see which method you want to experiment with.

Dave

@Alexz, Thanks, for posting the photos. Just so you don't think I was picking on you without being willing to help...

The first step is really simple to alleviate the 'emergency' issues.

First up - Did you build the aquarium yourself? If so it looks pretty darn good for a hobbyist.

You have 3 1" pipes and they all go way down into your sump below the surface of the water. When your pump is off the overflow pipes drain into the sump and when they run out of water they fill with air. When the pump kicks back on and the water starts flowing down the pipes the air is trapped. The air in the pipe is basically a bubble and wants to rise up the pipe to the top. The water is at the top and gravity is pulling the water down the pipe and trapping the air.

The air bubble in the pipe gets trapped and actually blocks the pipe stopping the flow of water going down the pipe. When that happens the water in the over flow box and the tank rises. As the water rises above the top of the pipe there is more pressure by the water. Sometimes the water wins and it flushes the air out of the pipe making a big splash down below.

But sometimes the air wins. And when the trapped air wins it over comes the weight of the water and pushes the water up out of the pipe causing you to get your erupting volcano.

Now several have commented about adding standpipes and gate valves. Those are techniques for quieting or silencing your overflow. But right now you have an issue with the plumbing design and you need to resolve that first.

There are 2 ways of doing this. 1) Now that you know the water level in the chamber that the overflow dumps into you can cut the drainage pipes to just within an inch of the surface. With only and inch of the pipe submerged it is much easier for the water to push the air out of the pipe and let the water flow down.

The 2nd way 2) is to leave your pipes down low but drill vent holes in the pipes an inch above the surface level of the water in the first chamber. A small hole in each pipe lets the air escape out the side of the pipe while the water runs straight in. This is a great job for a step bit as you may have to drill the vent holes a couple of times getting larger so that the air vents without whistling and if you go too big you get splashing. This also removes alot of the noise you get from all the big bubbles going into the sump.

I prefer the 2nd method. The reasons being that with a vent hole the water is allowed to flow smoothly down the pipe creating less splash, less noise and less bubbles because it's never fighting the air for space in the pipe. This also allows you to drain all the way at the bottom of the first chamber keeping the detritus from settling on the bottom as the water flows over the top.


Now once you have taken care of the emergency volcano situation then you can start playing with making the whole process of getting water out of the tank quieter. There are plenty of threads on Dursos and Bean Overflows for you to review and for you to determine which works best for you. Simple is always going to last longer with less headaches.

But adding standpipes in the overflow box to stop the water "Falling" into the pipes will make a big difference in noise. Then you will be left with some gurgling sounds and this is going to be an issue depending on the flow of water you have dropping thru the 3 down pipes. You may not need to go any further than stand pipes to make your tank nice and quiet. But if more silencing is necessary then start reviewing the Bean and Durso threads and see which method you want to experiment with.

Dave B

this totally makes sense now with the volcano effect. Are you a physics teacher or been in this hobby for quite some time. 5stars

 

[Jamie814]

My return in aquarium is 1 inch below water level so not so many gallons.

If your tank is 2x2x6 like you said each 1" drop in water is about 8-9 gallons. As you mentioned your sump is only 20 gallons total so if it's more than 1/2 full running your going to have water on the floor if your return pump stops. Not trying to be mean but your system really needs some design help from a professional before you flood your apartment.

 

[Reefering1]

One more piece of advice, Cheech, save the broccoli for after you're done building the tank and setting up plumbing. Later you can blaze away and look at the pretty fish ;-)

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Can you explain what's happening here? Are all these sponge and filter floss?